Abstract
The existential perspective on human existence posits that individuals create meaning for themselves subjectively by becoming authentic. Modern research has defined meaning as well-being, studying objectively constructed sources and goals that provide a universal sense of purpose. The present study created a structural psychological model based on existential theory to represent the process of subjective meaning-making. Results supported the proposed model statistically; interpretations were supported by existential theory. Mediation was achieved in both structures, indicating that having an epistemic interest in self-discovery leads one to self-reflect which through metacognitive self-evaluation creates a curious need to know more and reflect on different perspectives; thus, self-reflection partially mediates epistemic curiosity in developing compassionate perspective-taking. Further, compassionate perspective-taking fully mediated self-reflection’s influence on having a sense of existential meaningfulness through self-transcendence and authenticity. Despite limitations to generalizability, the study provides a successful base for future research on existentially based processes of subjective meaning-making.